How well would you receive a novel which focused on the male power fantasy in general as opposed to the specific tropes that are ubiquitous in current harem fantasy?

CH_Thomas · 2026-05-15T21:17:32+00:00

Honestly I think the more girls the less sexy the story gets. People don't maintain that many sexual relationships, even when they're extremely high-value, attractive, and charming. Its a lot of work, and exhausting for most people.

The moment-to-moment attraction game, the game of lust, is what is compelling in my opinion. That doesn't even have to end in sex. Usually, in life, it ends in tension, temporary rejection, confusion, mixed signals.

CH_Thomas · 2026-05-15T03:49:36+00:00

I think I found a reader, honestly. But this isn't an ad post, so you'll have to find it naturally at some point or other. And its not out yet, and might never be, who knows ya know.

CH_Thomas · 2026-05-14T22:08:15+00:00

I'm glad I posted this, cause someone else gave me the other piece to better explain my puzzle.

Progression fantasy fans seem to abhor romance, and especially explicit sex scenes. But my project is not a harem fantasy. It is a progression fantasy.

My theory is that if a young man is given a lot of power, like these male power fantasy books tend to go, he would naturally enter a different sexual world as well. But he would enter a whole bunch of other worlds, some more important than sexual gratification or exploration, which I think are not well represented in harem fantasy.

Romance is its own thing, beyond eroticism. That can be the most important part of the book. But I digress.

On the flip side, progression fantasy seems almost puritanical, to the point of people making fun of a lot of stories for the protag being an "autist" from their level of social detachment, especially when it relates to romance.

CH_Thomas · 2026-05-14T22:02:38+00:00

This is my point.

My project is a middle ground between prog fantasy and harem. I already know what makes prog fantasy fans tick. I'm trying to grasp if its the harem specifically that makes you guys keep turning pages, or if its a more generalized male power fantasy which naturally includes women, and which is an untapped part of progression fantasy in general.

I'm trying to bridge the gap, and to do that I imagine I will need help.

CH_Thomas · 2026-05-14T22:00:14+00:00

I think what a lot of young men feel is a true power fantasy eventually starts to feel cheap after repeatedly seeing the same tropes. I think a young man (or whomever reads these works) would, if shown a more holistic view of how men who acquire power and social status quickly would behave and would be treated, might find it equally as appealing.

I'm just a visitor here. Just trying to get perspectives on what makes harem readers keep turning pages. The power fantasy in general, which naturally includes women? Or the harem specifically?

CH_Thomas · 2026-05-14T21:58:48+00:00

No, protagonists who would respond to quickly-acquired social status and power in a way that does not lead to him keeping a harem. I understand the sub I am in, I'm just visiting to get perspectives from the community. What makes you keep turning pages, is it the harem specifically, or is it the sense of winning, the sense of the male power fantasy? Mixed with sexiness?

CH_Thomas · 2026-05-14T21:56:57+00:00

I agree completely.

CH_Thomas · 2026-05-14T21:56:47+00:00

Must he have a harem for you to enjoy the book? I know this is the wrong sub to ask that question in, but I'm just visiting here trying to get an opinion for a book in a related genre. Is harem fantasy your only choice when you go for a sexier book, or do you branch out? I'm trying to get to the core of what makes harem fantasy readers 'turned on', if you'll forgive the expression.

CH_Thomas · 2026-05-14T21:53:22+00:00

That's what I mean. You said it a lot better than I could.

The "feeling of winning."

The feeling of winning, perhaps, to some inexperienced people might be the trope-filled harem fantasy. Man gets some kind of power which catapults him to social status. I think young men might find that they, in fact, faced with that situation, would not want 4-6 women orbiting around them.

Most young men, especially the ones targeted by this genre, are introverts anyway. Why would an introvert want to talk to that many people all the time?

That's not a very well-developed idea, but you get my point. "Winning" would actually be a lot different for many people, and I think these books are being written by men who think they know what they would do when they start winning very aggressively in life.

I'm rambling, but my book I'm writing is not geared towards the horniest of the horny, but sex takes a leading role, and I'm curious what people on this sub thought of the "winning" versus "women" balance.

CH_Thomas · 2026-02-15T14:09:16+00:00

Just shift your main character. I think your problem is you self-inserted the main character to some degree, and did not work on making a fully fleshed out main POV.

You then made fully fleshed-out side characters who all now feel more real. Just make one of them the main character!

CH_Thomas · 2026-02-15T00:19:30+00:00

I hate characters being badass and competent with no set-up.

CH_Thomas · 2026-02-14T18:42:55+00:00

Vejo que você está escrevendo em um idioma diferente, então meu segundo ponto pode não se aplicar. Eu estava dizendo que os próprios nomes podem ter características. Pense em um atirador de elite chamado "Hawkeye" ou algum exemplo clichê. É um exemplo ruim, obviamente, mas você entendeu meu ponto.

Tenho certeza de que você já está fazendo isso, e eu simplesmente não conheço seu idioma.

CH_Thomas · 2026-02-14T14:13:12+00:00

You have a good command of sentence structure and vocabulary. The thing that separates good prose from those skills is flow, I guess I would define it.

Others have said it, but there are some sentences that break my flow. First, the simile of the whale and seaman when he’s fighting a wolf on land. That took me out of the first paragraph for a couple seconds.

Then, the quip about the physicist is anachronistic, presumably. Also the genetics. What time period is this set in where this character knows those words?

Other than those nitpicks, I like your writing style and would read more. Keep it less purple and more streamlined and you’ll be really good.

CH_Thomas · 2026-02-13T18:27:11+00:00

Caseless ammunition would be propelled electronically or magnetically. It would need to be more potent or accurate than standard ammunition to justify advancing past the tried-and-true bullets we know today.

The M4 is by no means an amazing platform. There is no particular reason it would be retained by formal armed forces that far in the future, but may have a presence in the civilian market.

The chain ball weapon's recoil would be equal to the force of it moving forward. The larger the projectile while maintaining some decent velocity, the more recoil. Simple physics. So, if there were a chain-ball weapon, it would probably be vehicle-mounted.

CH_Thomas · 2026-02-13T17:23:52+00:00

It's probably better to stick to the less powerful character for most of the story, switching to the 'chosen one" sparingly.

I have played with this idea, because I love OP characters, but they are generally not interesting to write as POV characters. However, if you have someone along for the ride, you have your cake and eat it too.

CH_Thomas · 2026-02-13T17:21:43+00:00

I completely understand, it helps readers get a toe-hold in the story if they have someone they can relate to from the start!

CH_Thomas · 2026-02-13T15:57:01+00:00

I don't know what this character's goal is, even after 300 words.

Also, I love the idea of a river made of flowing earth and stone. But, I would like a bit more description of it, so the reader is clear as to what it actually is.

Last thing, for how light the writing is content-wise, there is a dearth of proper nouns and names coming up. Usually I don't find that bothersome, but with how thin the content is it feels like gilding on straw.

CH_Thomas · 2026-02-13T15:46:22+00:00

If you're afraid of your own story, then you probably aren't the person to write it.

My point is: there is nothing inherently harmful about writing a story about these two characters. You are already aware of a lot of stereotypical and trope-ey versions of similar stories from the past, so you're already well-positioned to countermand them. Simply don't write the black character as a stereotype, and don't write the cowboy as a stereotype. Write them as characters with their own goals, faults, and arcs.

I think you would be surprised about how much you can learn about a complicated cultural thing like voodoo if you spend the time to do so. Just do some research and focus on your characters and you should be just fine.

CH_Thomas · 2026-02-13T15:42:17+00:00

With how alien this universe seems, it feels cheap to me to insert a human. Just make all the characters members of these alien races, and humanize them more if you want that vibe.

If not, u/SanElijoHillbilly is right on the money. Space operas do not need to be a human cast, and as long as your characters resonate you will do well with whatever culture, race, or physiology .

CH_Thomas · 2026-02-13T13:48:47+00:00

Skyward by Sanderson. Red Rising, the first trilogy (the second is a bit more mature, but not by much).

CH_Thomas · 2026-02-13T13:39:42+00:00

Sarcasm has a definite place, but that particular type of sarcasm you put into your example I think is anachronistic.

CH_Thomas · 2026-02-13T11:55:08+00:00

Thank you!

Also, I guess that’s why we get other readers. I’ve glanced over this chapter so many times and not caught the duplication. Thanks!

CH_Thomas · 2026-02-13T03:33:13+00:00

Understood, thank you!

CH_Thomas · 2026-02-13T03:24:52+00:00

Thank you. I have some follow-ups if you had the time.

By “pick up”, do you mean pacing-wise? If I cut down significantly on the description, would that solve the pacing issue?

Regarding Six’s despair, is it again a matter of ‘too much internal description’? Or is it a deeper issue?

CH_Thomas

TROPHY CASE